In order
for a child to develop phonemic awareness, they must have an
understanding of
short vowel sounds.This concept is
essential in order for a child to be a successful reader.This lesson will help students understand the
correspondence i = /i/ by illustrating the concept with memorable tools
used in
showing them the /i/ sound in spoken and written words.

Materials:

-
Tin Man Fix-It
for each
student

-
Chart with the
tongue twister on
it (Iggie the Indian is in the igloo)

Introduce the lesson by explaining
that it is very important in reading to know the sounds that different
letters make when we see them in words.“Today we are going to learn a fun way to remember what the
letter i says in a word.Has anyone ever
gotten glue that was sticky on their fingers?When
you tried to move your fingers what kind of sound did you make?‘iiiick’, Right!That’s
the sound that the short i makes.Now,
let’s all pretend that we have glue on our fingers and we want to try
to get it off.Remember to make the sound
when you do it; iiiick!Good job!Another way to remember is to say the words
‘icky sticky’ (hold up picture) when you’re doing it,
too.Let’s all try.‘Icky
sticky!’Good job!”

2.

“Now, let’s all look at a tongue twister.Everybody read it together.(Iggie
the Indian is in the igloo).Great!This time when
we say it, every
time we hear the /i/ sound,
let’s all make the ‘icky sticky’ hand motion and stretch out the /i/
sound.(Iiiigie the
Iiii iiiis
iiiin
the iiiigloo.)Good job!”

3.

Have
the students tell if they hear the /i/ sound in different words.“Do you hear /i/ in:sit or stand?lip or nose?small or
big?”

4.

“Now that we have all mastered the /i/
sound, (do “icky
sticky” with fingers) we are going to practice writing the
letter i.Take
out a piece of primary
paper and a
pencil.Everyone do what I do (model
on the board/have lines on the board that match their
paper).We start at the fence and go down
to the
sidewalk.Now, pick up your pencil and
give him a dot just above the fence.Everyone
do that 5 more times on your paper while I walk around and make sure
that they look right.”

Tell the class to take out their
letterboxes and letters.Have them spread
the letters out on their desks.[Have a
big model that will be taped on the board for them all to see, as well
as letters.]“Now we are going
to spell words that have the /i/ sound in them.Each
of your boxes will have only one sound in it.Watch
me as I spell the word pig.P-p-p-i-i-i-g-g-g.It helps to say the word so you can hear all
of the sounds.The first sound I hear in
pig is what?/p/.Right.So, now I put the p in the first box.Then what sound do I hear?[Do the ‘icky sticky’]Right!I hear /i/, so I’ll put the i in the next box.What is the last sound I hear?/g/.Good job!Now I put the g in the last box.Let’s
read our word.P-i-g.Great!We have just spelled the
word pig!Let’s see if you can spell these
words that have /i/ in them.”Have
students use the letterboxes and their letters to spell the following
words:3 phonemes – bit, fin,
him, did, sip.4 phonemes – twig, click, list.5
phonemes – split, crisp.Tell
the students exactly how many boxes they will need to use for each set
of words.“Now we’re all going
to practice reading and spelling words
with the /i/ sound.Try to spell them the
way I just showed you.When you’re
finished, raise your hand and I’ll come check!”

6.

Pass
out copies of Tin Man Fix-It.“Today we are going to read Tin Man Fix-It.This book is about Tim, a tin man who is
helping
his friend Jim plant a
garden.Sid, the big kid, comes by on his
skateboard
and runs into Tim, making him fall apart.To
find out
if they can put Tim back
together, you’re going to
have to read.”Have the students read
on their own.If students encounter a
problem reading, they will
raise their hand and wait for teacher assistance. When
they are done, ask them what words they
read
that had the /i/ sound in
them. Write
these words on the board.

7.

For assessment, pass out the picture page and as a
class name
each picture.With the class, read the
names of the pictures on
the page.Have
the students circle the pictures that have the /i/
sound.